Buenos Aires U.S. Visitor Arrivals With New Airlift
by Maria Lisella /
Last year, Buenos Aires attracted some 230,000 tourists from the United States and Canada for a 13% increase compared to 2015 and the highest in the past five years.
Since taking office a year ago, Argentine President Mauricio Macri has pledged to attract international investment to boost the economy and improve the country's transportation infrastructure, including airports. He announced the government would invest $1.39 billion to modernize the country's airports in part to boost passenger capacity.
Beginning Oct. 28, United Flight 979 will depart from New York/Newark (EWR) at 9:50 pm and arrive at Buenos Aires Ezeiza at 10:50 am the following day. From Oct. 29, United Flight 978 will depart Buenos Aires Ezeiza at 9:00 pm and arrive at New York/Newark at 6:10 am the next day. Both flights will operate with Boeing 767-300 aircraft featuring 30 seats in United Polaris business class, 49 extra-legroom Economy Plus seats and 135 United Economy seats.
Last month, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA also announced that it will establish a unit in Argentina with 10 Boeing Co. 737 narrow-body jets by the end of 2017 and expects to transport between two million and 3.5 million people in its first full year of operations in the country.
Additionally, the government of Argentina announced on January 2nd that all international tourists planning a visit to the South American nation will receive a direct and automatic reimbursement of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from their hotel and lodging stays across the country.